MIT developing autonomous wheelchair that listens when you speak

Oh MIT, do the wonders that come from your halls ever cease? Yet another remarkable development is emerging from the fabled institution, and this time it's an autonomous wheelchair that can remember important places in a given building (read: the hospital ward, your house, the local arcade, etc.) and then take you there on command. In other words, the voice recognizing chair could understand phrases of direction, such as "head to the kitchen," and it would take on the burden of navigating the halls while letting the rider chill. The researchers are implementing a system that can learn and adapt to the individual user, and in the future, they'd like to add in a collision-avoidance system and mechanical arms to help patients lift and move objects. Say, can regular joes / janes buy these? We're totally feeling this over the Segway.

[Via medGadget]

[bill @ Sep 21st 2008 6:45AM]

Oh! So all those crazy-lookin' people in wheelchairs talking to themselves are actually talking to their wheelchairs?

[Noodles2k @ Sep 21st 2008 6:45AM]

sick? ROFL!

[hiko36 @ Sep 21st 2008 12:48PM]

hahaha I clicked the comments just so I could see if someone had mentioned Wall-E yet.

[Noodles2k @ Sep 21st 2008 6:47AM]

Hopefully it won't be based on dragon naturally speaking... having to say STOP six times for it to turn right is not cool.


Stephen Hawkin won't be going anywhere fast though.

[waterboy99troop @ Sep 21st 2008 11:28AM]

stephen hawking won't be saying anything fast enough either... stephen hawkin, on the other hand...

[lorddshadow @ Sep 21st 2008 5:02PM]

i knew someone was going to mention stephen hawking.

[Wwhat @ Sep 22nd 2008 11:08AM]

Ever noticed that he can't talk and is using a keyboard and electronic voicebox to 'speak'?
Even in spoofs they make a point of that.

[Wwhat @ Sep 22nd 2008 11:12AM]

Not even a real keyboard incidentally but a virtual one on screen because he can't operate a real one.

[Surur @ Sep 21st 2008 7:42AM]

Shouldn't collision avoidance be the FIRST thing they add to a wheelchair with autonomous navigation? Hope there is no trucks on the road when you are on the way to the arcade.

[Thanh T. @ Sep 21st 2008 7:53AM]

Interesting article.

“MIT developing autonomous wheelchair that listens when you speak.”

Wow, I remember when I was in high school one of my favorite instructors introduced us students to working with robotics. It’s amazing the rapid development in advance electronics and robotics in recent years.

If this technology is reliable and cost efficient it can be implemented in many different environments. For example, the medical field may find these new technologies and applications very useful. Perhaps, to help nurses reduce time filling out information in the E.R. and so on…

Voice recognition has already been implemented in high end luxury homes and vehicles.

The collision-avoidance system is intriguing and may be implementing in future transportation vehicles applications also…(planes, trains, boats, and automobiles.)

Can it “head to the kitchen” and flip pancakes too…heehe, smiling.

Hmmm, very interesting. Keep up the good work, MIT.

[Vicada @ Sep 21st 2008 7:58AM]

[Insert Stephen Hawking joke here...] :)
Cool wheelchair though...

[Nelson @ Sep 21st 2008 8:10AM]

Kitchen, James... And don't spare the batteries!

[Dave @ Sep 21st 2008 8:13AM]

SICK is a brand name, probably German- I've seen it in automated factories where engineers make great things from modular systems, like an adult LEGO Technic set.
Note to Engadget: LEGO can be a plural, so no need for 'Legos'. Ditto LEGO Technic, don't confuse us by using 'Technics' in an article headline unless, of course, you're talking about fine turntables or something else from Panasonic- previously Matsushita. Just copy/paste the relevant part of the LEGO wikipedia article into your stylebook or whatever. You do have a stylebook, don't you?
Keep up the good work!

[Shunnabunich @ Sep 21st 2008 10:09AM]

Ah, I was just about to ask if it meant "the person in this wheelchair is SICK" or "dude, that's a SICK-ass wheelchair!" :)

[Samboini @ Sep 21st 2008 11:04AM]

It would appear you like the sound of your own voice.

[Randy @ Sep 21st 2008 8:35AM]

As a quad, I for one welcome our new wheelchair overlords.

[Jim Nichols @ Sep 21st 2008 3:12PM]

Sadly the responders just don't get it, my wife is also a quad.

[Dave @ Sep 21st 2008 9:06AM]

Did you guys NOT see Wall-E? DO NOT WANT!!

[Graham @ Sep 21st 2008 10:39AM]

Finally something that listens when I speak. More than I can say for a wife.

[John H. @ Sep 21st 2008 11:00AM]

dude, that thing is "SICK"

[absurdio @ Sep 21st 2008 11:05AM]

"We're totally feeling this over the Segway."

Yeah. I mean. If you're already comfortable being lazy and friendless, you might as well be a) seated and b) barking orders at your chair.

[Jon Nelson @ Sep 21st 2008 2:45PM]

"MIT developing autonomous wheelchair that listens when you speak"

Why can't they train my wife to do that?

[Reader @ Sep 21st 2008 4:55PM]

Because that would be breaking the known laws of physics.

[Johan S @ Sep 21st 2008 3:55PM]

An autonomous wheelchair.

What could possibly go wrong?

[Jonathan-DBOSS @ Sep 21st 2008 5:08PM]

Why use hands when you have Mechanical Arms?

"Bedroom, Press Play... Oh Yeahhh"

[pr_master @ Sep 21st 2008 6:24PM]

What the hell WALL-E has to do with this article???
WALL-E wasnt a wheelchair :\

[McCow @ Sep 21st 2008 8:41PM]

Can any say the Daleks.....Dr Who ?......Really old farts, on oxygen, in automated wheelchairs, sounding like Stephen hawking.......all saying "We will Rule the world" !

[Ferny @ Sep 22nd 2008 2:57AM]

possible scenario..

old lady outside screaming at seemingly no one "go to the bathroom" over and over.
what she fails to see is that it is out of batteries.

[Wwhat @ Sep 22nd 2008 11:10AM]

If you are THAT disabled are you going to be wheeling around alone? Or is this meant as a cost-saving thing fro the insurance companies? "no you won't get help, talk to the chair"